Bee Quotes Dean Johnson on Harris' Support of Undocumented Attorney While AG

Dean Kevin R. Johnson spoke to the Sacramento Bee about then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris’ role in Sergio Garcia’s long struggle to become the first undocumented licensed attorney in California.

Harris, now United States vice president and the likely 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, came out in support of Garcia and wrote an amicus brief backing his case.

Harris’ support “made the difference” in the case, Johnson said, and eventually led to a unanimous 2014 California Supreme Court decision in Garcia’s favor. Johnson was one of the attorneys who represented the state bar, which supported Garcia’s admission.

Then-Chief Justice of California Tani Cantil-Sakauye ’84 authored the court’s decision.

Kevin R. Johnson is the law school’s dean, Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and professor of Chicana/o studies at UC Davis. He is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law, and civil rights.